Vol. 333 No. 2
asked the Taoiseach if he intends to establish an all-party committee on marital breakdown; if so, when this committee will be established; the nature of this committee; their terms of reference; and whether the Government will regard themselves as being bound to introduce any legislation recommended by the committee.
16.
asked the Taoiseach whether it is intended to set up an Oireachtas committee on child and family welfare; when this committee will be established; the nature of their terms of reference; and how this committee will differ from the special committee on marital breakdown.
17.
asked the Taoiseach when he proposes to move the establishment of an all-party Oireachtas committee on child and family welfare.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 16 and 17 together.
The question of the establishment of Oireachtas committees is at present under consideration.
I refer the Taoiseach to an alleged agreement concluded between himself and Deputy Gregory which was referred to in The Irish Times of 10 March 1982 regarding matters other than inner-city development which was the sole matter he directed himself to when answering the previous questions. There is a submission in that document under the heading “Laws” that the constitutional ban on divorce will await findings of the special committee on marital breakdown. Arising from that, does the Taoiseach propose to establish an all-party committee on marital breakdown? What terms of reference does he envisage for them? How many Members of the House does the Taoiseach propose to place on the committee? When does he intend that the committee will be established? Will this Government accept the recommendations of such a committee?
I have already explained to the Deputy that the question of what committees should be established by this Dáil is at present under consideration by the Government. It is my belief that it is necessary to proceed cautiously in this area. I have already explained in regard to this matter during the last Dáil that it is a simple matter to set up a number of Oireachtas committees to deal with whatever concept comes into the mind of any particular Deputy. The trouble is to get committees to work. It is essential to limit the number of such committees if we are to have effective committees. This is something that is very much present in my mind in trying to decide what committees we should establish, how many and what areas we should cover.
Is there no substance to the alleged agreement concluded between Deputy Gregory in which it appears that the Taoiseach promised that such a committee would be established? Is there any substance to the idea of a committee on child and family welfare which was promised to Deputy Gregory? In what way will this committee differ from the committee on marital breakdown?
My experience in this House, going back over a long number of year, teaches me that it is a simple matter to set up an Oireachtas committee. It is infinitely more difficult to try to ensure that committees function effectively and perform the duties they were set up to do. The form of committees we may or may not establish in this Dáil and the areas they will cover is something to which I will give careful consideration and which I hope to be in a position to discuss with the Opposition parties.
I am aware of the Taoiseach's reluctance to have committees of this House in which Independent Deputies could play a role, having suffered from him dragging his feet on this point for six months of last year. In relation to the published version of this agreement when will the Taoiseach be seeking the agreement of all parties in the House to the establishment of an Oireachtas committee on child and family welfare which is item 3 under the heading "Family and Children," subheading "Welfare" in the printed version?
I have nothing to add except by way of helpful explanation. There are many areas which Deputies on all sides would wish to see the subject of examination by Oireachtas committees. It is very important that we decide for ourselves how many such committees we can effectively set up and service. Following that we can decide what areas, particularly in the social area, the different committees should cover so that they will be effective and avoid overlapping.
Having discussed and reached agreement on this matter with Deputy Gregory, would the Taoiseach be prepared to discuss and reach agreement with me on the question of committees? When could we meet to have this discussion?
I am prepared to talk to the Deputy at any time about these matters. With the exception of one committee on which we disagreed as a matter of principle in the last Dáil, the Deputy found me oncoming in regard to the other committees he had in mind. My only doubt, which I expressed freely and openly, was whether we were taking the risk of establishing too many committees, perhaps to the detriment of their efficiency.
The Taoiseach did express this view to me when he was Leader of the Opposition but I could not describe him as oncoming as he held up the establishment of committees by refusing to answer my letters for a period of six months. Is the Taoiseach prepared to discuss this matter with me next week?
Certainly.
In the light of the Taoiseach's reply to Deputy Shatter, is he not disposed to the re-establishment of the Oireachtas committee on development co-operation which was just established but did not operate in the last Dáil?
I am not at all unfavourably disposed to the re-establishment of such committees.
I understand the Taoiseach is having difficulty in giving us a straight "yes" or "no" answer.
To anything.
Is the Taoiseach favourably disposed to establishing a committee on marital breakdown or child and family welfare or has he directed his mind to the matter?
This is becoming repetitive. I believe in establishing committees which are effective. The number of such committees should be limited. Their terms of reference and the grounds they cover should be carefully considered in advance. It is because of this that I am giving careful consideration to how many and what kind of committees should be set up. I cannot go any further in the matter at this stage. I reiterate what I have already said to the Leader of the Opposition: I am prepared to discuss the whole question with him at any time, possibly next week.
Is it the Taoiseach's intention to establish a committee, the terms of which were under negotiation before the government changed, on women's affairs which is vital?
That is one of the committees which in the last Dáil we had indicated agreement to participating in. We had problems about the rather comprehensive terms of reference set out initially. That is one of the committees we can discuss in this Dáil.
(Limerick East): When will the Taoiseach be in a position to inform the House about decisions on these committees?
I do not think there is any need for me to set a time limit on that. The process of establishing such committees is one what will go on for the lifetime of this Dáil, five years.
I am trying, slowly and matter of factly, to establish what the Taoiseach is talking about. He referred——
The Deputy cannot make a speech.
What does the Taoiseach mean by "effective"? Does he mean a committee prepared with an open mind to consider all existing problems in an area or one to approach——
An effective Oireachtas committee is one for which it is possible, within an half-an-hour of the time it is supposed to meet, to get a quorum to assemble.
